Landfill step has already been taken

It's a condition of Proposition D, but happened before the measure was put on the ballot

The ultimate goal is to turn the city’s lease for the Miramar Landfill to a private company which would, in turn, give the city a steep discount on dumping fees and pay the city an annual franchise fee of as much as $10 million. That money could then be spent on public safety, parks and libraries.

That’s not possible today. The landfill’s current $37 million budget is fee-based and stands apart from the city’s $1.1 billion operating budget. The law does not allow the city to use the fees except at the landfill.

The separate fund also results in the city, which doesn’t charge residents for trash pickup, having to pay dumping fees at Miramar of roughly $6.6 million annually from its operating budget.

The need to reduce those costs is paramount as the city faces a $72 million operating deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1. If Proposition D passes, the sales tax is projected to raise an additional $102 million annually for the city over the next five years.

Ten proposed conditions, such as selling the landfill, are being promoted as saving money and positioning the city for when the tax expires.

Jay Goldstone, the city’s chief operating officer, said he is confident the city will be able to negotiate a landfill deal that will win over skeptics on the council.

“If you present a proposal with large enough savings and benefits to the city, hopefully that will help drive some of the decision-making process,” he said. “We expect that we’re going to get a good deal out of it. Given some of the preliminary information, it looks promising.”

San Diego County government made a similar move in 1997 when it sold its entire solid-waste system to a private company. That sale raised nearly $180 million for the county and eliminated an entire department from its bureaucracy.

The city has operated the Miramar Landfill since 1959 when it signed a $500-a-year lease deal with the military, which owns the property. The lease changed several times through the years, notably expanding the site from 450 acres to the existing 1,400-acre plot.

The north and south sections of the landfill have already been filled. The active western portion has collected 39 million tons of trash with room for an additional 19 million tons. At the current pace, the projected closure date is 2022.

Expanding the life of the landfill is expected to be one of the key points of negotiations as no private bidder will want to take on the liabilities associated with a dump to operate it for 12 years.

The Mayor’s Office is expected to check the qualifications of bidders over the next few weeks and request several to submit a formal, binding bid by November or December. The city could then either accept the bid or negotiate for better terms.